momof3boyz

"Cheaper than bail!"....... I'm glad you can see the humor in that statement.

How many parents of teenagers wish they knew where the kids were at, knew who they were hanging out with and could say with (greater confidence) they knew their kids were not messing around with drugs? Random drug testing is not a guarantee they won't try drugs or consume alcohol. Our children have blessed us by staying away from peer preasure. The truth of the matter is, they did not have time to get in trouble. Time management is a must. Our district's HS day begins first period at 7:20 am and ends at 2:10. XC/Wrestling/Track practice begins at 2:30 and ends by 5:30 (M-F) and Sat morning 8-11. XC/Track Tournaments or Invitationals are a full day event. Wrestling takes us all over the state with one or two day contests. After showers, dinner and homework they have (had) little time for TV on a school night. Time on the home computer was permitted only for homework on school nights. Computer games are (were) allowed on weekends.

Two of my boys are in college, leaving my youngest to follow the older brothers examples.
My middle son is a Div. I athlete. His scholarship is entirely merit based. We all sleep well each night knowing an injury will not jepordize his scholarship.

Modadunn

Similar story here Momofthreeboys, but different sports and Daughters in the mix as well. Son always did better academically when having the most on his plate. When he decided not to continue playing football in college I will admit I was concerned about what he would do with the extra time, but SO FAR he has proven himself by getting involved in a host of other EC's that he was never able to participate in before. So good for him. But to imagine his never having the opportunity to experience any of it in HS? Talk about being unprepared for the college life!

kelsmom

My high school cut sports in the spring term in 1977. I remember it being very strange - I missed running track. When my son's school district instituted pay to play, I considered that preferable to no sports. He doesn't care about sports at all, but I like the idea of having that option for those who do. I see the way my state's school districts just plain waste money & it makes me so angry. We have a different school district every few miles. Each district has its own administrative staff for everything ... elementary ed, secondary ed, curriculum development, special ed, transportation, food services, human resources, etc. There is a superintendent in each district, as well as several assistant superintendents and on & on. THEN there is a county intermediate school district that "helps" the individual school districts. IMO, too much duplication of effort & too much money wasted on redundant administrative costs.

hops_scout

Our school has had "pay to play" for as long as I can remember. I think it started out being like $30 per sport; now it's $45 per sport. BUT there is a cap of $110 per family each year.

Sure it's not much in the big picture, but it's something. And if someone has problems paying that, the school is very open about finding a way to work it out.

DougBetsy

I had no idea there are school systems without "pay to play." Learn something new everyday.

I live in a district where the athletics are all self-funded. Sports get NO annual budget. Coaches, equipment, uniforms, busses to away games, field maintence, etc are all paid for with participant fees and Booster fundraising. Works fine. I guess it's one of the reasons our taxes are (relatively) low, too.

mimimomx3

How sad. I'd love to know how many 'support' positions, bureaucrat and administrator positions where cut in this district before the EC were. Probably not many.

MaineLonghorn

DB, I didn't know we were lucky to get away for so long without pay to play! I won't complain anymore.

bookreader

Cheaper than bail.

That line is a keeper!!

Activities in high school are important. They are not going to go away. However, it would be nice if the excessive expenses were eliminated. Towns leagues will spring up if high school teams shut down. There will be sports. The only question is how they will be funded. My kids do private leagues so no tax money is used. The parents pay. Simple.

momof3boyz

The SWCS District had a large exidous of HS students after the levy failed. Families of Senior students that were being recruited for college level sports or band had to make great sacrafices to enroll in new school districts just weeks before the start of classes. Athletic Directors and Coaches lost their primary jobs and/or supplemental income.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association has had to realign Schools in the League & Conference and redraft the entire fall competition schedule for all sports.

The economic impact of the failed levy has had a ripple effect on the entire community. On the bright side, there are some great deals on homes in the SWCS district. Empty nesters and young families that do not have an immediate need for their local schools can purchase a home far below the market value.

Put yourself in their shoes. What would you do?

younghoss

My answer to the query in post 39: See post 36.
MimiX3 thinks like I do(my posts 2 and 11).

dragonmom

Unfortunately sometimes these cuts seem aimed at what will pain the community most, so that the next levy passes, rather than looking at across-the-board cuts (including admin)
In another state where a relative taught, failed levy elections meant that the board decided to go to half days for middle and high schools. Nothing like a bunch of unsupervised, bored kids hanging out in the downtown and mall to make people notice. It got the voters to come around, but at what cost to those kids in the 2 "thrown-away" class years?

MiamiDAP

I do not see why the rest of community with a lot of older people on limited income and a lot of us who are paying for college education have to pay for some kids' interest in sports. We have paid for every single EC's that our D has been engaged in addtion to paying very high Real Estate taxes (with majority of them funding public schools), and for very expensive private K-12 (yes, by our own choice, but what is more important education or sports?). D's club sport with many out-of town competitions that was our responsibility of taking her to, has been much more than $300 / season and that was in addtion to private piano and art lessons outside of school. All of it was our choice and we have fully paid for it. So was our choice of supporting her thru her college. So, why do we also have to pay for somebody's else's choice of participating in sports in addition to paying for their public education? We are not rich, both have been working full time our whole life and praying every day that we still have our jobs tomorrow.

owlice

MiamiDAP, indeed, why even pay to educate anyone else's kids? Let the parents pay for their own children, and let those without kids or whose kids are raised off the hook! Only parents should pay for education, and then only so long as their children need educating!

Fie to having a fit younger generation! Let them all grow fat and die young and stupid, so long as those of us whose kids are already grown don't have to pay anything for sports!

TheDad

Yes, I suppose it's just one more thing that students of parents without resources can live without: sports & high school music.

And the rich get richer in terms of relative opportunities.

(And, yes, for us D's private ballet for K-12 soaked up more $$$ than I care to think about and absorbing the cost of a decent French horn when she went from middle school [horn provided] to high school [you're on your own] choked me at the time though she owns the instrument, played it all through college, and a year after graduation has started playing again, so while I choked I can't say she didn't get the most of that investment.)

tsdad

I've got mine; screw everyone else. To h--- with the future of the country. Yea, children are the future. No wait; only my children are the future.